PITTSBURGH -- The National League MVP doesnt play favourites when it comes to hot streaks. Neither do the Pittsburgh Pirates, who rode Andrew McCutchen to another win Wednesday. McCutchen homered and reached base four times and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 at rainy PNC Park on Wednesday night. McCutchen is batting .462 during a seven-game hitting streak and has 12 extra-base hits during 10 June games. "I dont compare (career-best stretches)," McCutchen said. "Im not big on that. Im just seeing the ball hitting the ball. Im in a spurt where Im feeling really good right now." So are the Pirates, who have taken two of the first three games of the series with their NL Central rivals. Pittsburghs Brandon Cumpton (2-2) pitched five effective innings, and the offence pounded Cubs starter Jason Hammel (6-4) for 11 hits in five innings, snapping his streaks of 14 1-3 innings without allowing a run and 52 innings without allowing a homer when McCutchen hit his 10th in the first. McCutchen also had a single and walked twice. "Hes hot," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "When he gets his pitch, hes not missing." Luis Valbuena likewise continued his recent strong hitting with three hits for last-place Chicago, which has lost three of four after a season-best five-game winning streak. The games first pitch was delayed 1 hour, 38 minutes because of a severe thunderstorm that began sweeping through downtown Pittsburgh about an hour before the scheduled start time. Rain fell again during the sixth inning. McCutchens fly ball landed more than a row into the left-field seats -- but it almost became an extra-long out when leftfielder Chris Coghlan leaped into the stands. He landed in the seats and said he had a read on the ball but that a fan outmanoeuvred him for it. "Best non-catch effort Ive ever seen," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "I would have went there and shook his hand myself if he caught that ball," McCutchen said. The Pirates Gregory Polanco went 1 for 5 with an RBI groundout a day after his much-hyped major league debut Tuesday. Making his sixth start of the season and fourth since being given a regular rotation spot, Cumpton allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. On his final pitch, he struck out Nate Schierholtz swinging with the bases loaded. "Its something I need to work on, getting through the fifth and sixth innings," Cumpton said. "It was a good experience, a real confidence booster for me." Justin Wilson, Tony Watson, Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli followed with a hitless inning each. Grilli earned his 10th save of the season during what was his 400th career appearance. Hammel had won two previous starts against the Pirates this season and entered Wednesday with the second-best WHIP in the majors (0.8. He allowed 14 baserunners Wednesday. "It was rough," Hammel said with a laugh. "A lot of hits given up. Up in the zone. Obviously could have been better strikes thrown, but I battled through. It could have been a lot worse - 11 hits through five innings? Its amazing they only put up four." Hammel was spared a worse line by some poor baserunning by Pittsburgh, which hit into two peculiar double plays and had another runner thrown out at third during the seventh inning after Hammel was out of the game. The Pirates Starling Marte had two hits - including an RBI single in the fifth inning - but also was thrown out on the basepaths for the third time in two games when he was picked off third following a Travis Snider pop-up behind home plate in the fifth. The Cubs briefly tied the game at 2 in the second when John Bakers single drove in Valbuena and Nate Schierholtz scored on a groundout. Notes: Before the game, the Pirates places LHP Francisco Liriano on the disabled list because of a strained left oblique that caused him to leave his start Tuesday in the fourth inning. . The Cubs on Wednesday announced they signed their first-round draft pick, Indiana University catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber, the No. 4 overall selection, will report to the organizations short-season Class A affiliate in Boise, Idaho. . Pirates 2B Josh Harrison was removed from the game for a pinch hitter during the third inning because of discomfort in his left ankle. . A fireworks display - from the nearby annual Pittsburgh arts festival - rumbled PNC Park for several minutes during the fourth inning. . Pittsburghs Thursday scheduled starter, RHP Edionson Volquez, is 5-0 in his career against the Cubs. Chicagos probable starter, RHP Jeff Samardzija, has a 1.90 ERA in 71 career innings against the Pirates, including seven shutout innings on opening day at PNC Park. Emeka Okafor Jersey . The defending champions’ roller coaster season included trading offensive star Percy Harvin in the midst of the team’s 3-3 start. That move that reportedly irked several Seahawk players, but one management saw necessary to save the team’s chemistry. Zion Williamson Jersey . A Swiss Federal Tribunal ruling published Friday said that FIFAs disputes panel and the Court of Arbitration for Sport correctly imposed the sanction for Nantes enticing Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura to break his contract with Dubai club Al Nasr in January 2012. https://www.cheappelicans.com/215u-darren-collison-jersey-pelicans.html . The 49ers announced the deal Tuesday. San Francisco selected Lloyd in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. David West Jersey . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Desmond Mason Jersey .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider.The Chicago Blackhawks locked down the Wild, to go up 2-0 in their series, and the Pittsburgh Penguins controlled play against the New York Rangers, evening their series at one game apiece. Notes on Bryan Bickell, Brandon Saad, Matt Moulson, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury and more. BLACKHAWKS LOCK DOWN WILD The Chicago Blackhawks stifled the Minnesota Wild on the way to a 4-1 win in Game Two, taking a 2-0 series lead. LW Bryan Bickell picked up a goal and two assists to lead the Blackhawks attack and RW Marian Hossa had three assists. LW Brandon Saad also had a pair of goals for the Blackhawks and the performance of supporting cast wingers like Bickell and Saad reminded me of the recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times by Mark Lazerus, about Chicagos use of analytics. The article, without getting into specifics, discusses how the Blackhawks use all kinds of data in their player evaluation and one of the easiest ways to dismiss Chicagos use of analytics is that, hey, they have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews -- its not analytics that make them a good team. Of course elite players matter more than a teams analytical approach, and Toews and Kane are great, but they are just two players. The rest of the roster still needs to be filled out and, for Chicago, that includes big-bodied wingers like Saad and Bickell. Bickell, who was a playoff hero last season, scoring nine goals and 17 points in 23 games as the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, finished the 2013-2014 regular season with 11 goals and 15 points in 59 games, so expectations were relatively low coming into this postseason. However, digging a little deeper into the numbers, we see that Bickell had a 58.0% Corsi during the regular season (second among Blackhawks forwards, behind Jonathan Toews) and was among the unluckiest forwards in the league with a 95.6% PDO (on-ice shooting plus save percentage); these underlying statistics suggested that Bickell might be due for better results and, with five goals and eight points in this years playoffs, hes getting better results. Before scoring two goals, including an empty-netter, Sunday, Saad had one goal in 32 career playoff games. The 21-year-old is also a strong possession player, and has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in eight playoff games this year. For a team that has Toews, Kane, Hossa and Patrick Sharp, getting big production out of Bickell and Saad is just about unfair. A little more on the Blackhawks forward lines: with Andrew Shaw hurt and Brandon Bollig scratched, the Blackhawks returned Kris Versteeg and Jeremy Morin to the lineup. Ben Smith had a rough game, in terms of puck possession, on for 29.4% (10 for, 24 against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when he was on the ice. The Blackhawks, without Smith on the ice, were getting 62.0% (31 for, 19 against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. With Jonathan Toews on the ice, the Blackhawks had 73.7% (14 for, five against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. With Toews off the ice, the Blackhawks had only 41.dddddddddddd5% of the shot attempts, though there were obviously some score effects at play, since Chicago dominated possession in score close situations. The Wild have been having trouble generating offence against Chicago. Blackhawks G Corey Crawford stopped 18 of Minnesotas 19 shots Sunday, and hes stopped 48 of 51 (.941 SV%) in the first two games of this series. One of the more notable problem areas in the lineup for the Wild is LW Matt Moulson, who has one goal (on 20 shots) and one assist in nine playoff games and has, effectively, been taken out of an offensive role. No Wild player had a lower percentage of offensive zone starts in Game Two, but this one example stands in contrast to the Blackhawks forward depth. This wasnt expected to be a particularly close series and, through two games, the Blackhawks are living up to their favoured status. The Wild will have to find a way, perhaps with better matchups at home, to get more chances or else this could be short work for Chicago. PENGUINS BLANK RANGERS The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated play against the New York Rangers in Game Two, winning 3-0 and evening the series at one game apiece. Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 22 shots he faced, and that gives him a .914 save percentage (224 saves on 245 shots) in the playoffs -- his highest playoff save percentage since 2007-2008. D Kris Letang had an outstanding game for the Penguins, with a goal and two assists, while playing 25:35; a bit of a break through for an offensive defenceman who had one point in the previous seven playoff games. Penguins C Sidney Crosby didnt record a point, but was on top of his game, generating a game-high 10 shot attempts and on the ice for 74.1% (20 for, seven against) of 5-on-5 shot attempts. Marcel Goc was the possession ace for Pittsburgh in Game Two, on for 12 shot attempts for and just two against (85.7%). The only Rangers line to finish on the right side of the possession ledger -- and just barely (10 for, nine against) -- was the trio of Brad Richards, Carl Hagelin and Daniel Carcillo. On the other hand, the line of Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard and Benoit Pouliot was on for less than 15% of 5-on-5 shot attempts, while D Ryan McDonagh was on the ice for four attempts for and 19 against (17.4%). The Rangers have played four games in the past six days and looked fatigued in Game Two. With Game Three going Monday night, there isnt much time for rest, but they will need to use whatever they can on home ice to tilt the ice back in their favour. The way Game Two played out, the Penguins controlled play even more decisively than the final score indicated and the Rangers could fall behind in this series while they struggle with a more condensed schedule than their opponents. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '